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Third Parties Politics
Third Party Politics is any party campaigning for votes that failed to receive enough votes to previously outweigh their rivals. There are challenges that third parties face in the United States, such as the exclusion from debates and media coverage, lack of ballot access and difficulty in raising campaign contributions to compete with the two major political parties. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is currently the third party candidate. 1816 is when we first see new parties develop. -
Nativism
Nativism is the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. Nativist outbursts occurred in the Northeast from the 1830s to the 1850s, primarily in response to a surge of Irish Catholic immigration. In the United States, nativism has been defined as “the intense opposition to an internal minority. -
Indian Removal
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. Some tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the policy. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is the belief that God wanted white Americans to settle the west. The term manifest destiny originated in the 1840s. The phrase was first employed by John L. O'Sullivan in an article on the annexation of Texas published in the July-August 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review. -
Industrialization
Gilded Age industrialization had its roots in the Civil War, which spurred Congress and the northern states to build more railroads and increased demand for a variety of manufactured goods. The Congress of 1862 authorized construction of the first transcontinental railroad, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic lines. Steel was also profitable during industrialization. -
Homestead Act
Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. This was significant because they were giving away land in the west that was already settled by other people such as Native Americans. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony was an American social reform worker and women's rights activist in the mid 1800's. In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. In 1878, Anthony arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote which later became the 19th amendment. -
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age began in the 1870's. It was preceded by the Reconstruction Era that ended in 1877 and was succeeded by the Progressive Era that began in the 1890s. The term "Gilded Age" refers to the fact that the society had many problems that were covered up by money and new constructions in cities, like a gold covering over something rotten. -
Populism and Progressivism
The populist movement started during the 1880’s. Farmers or those associated with agriculture believed industrialists and bankers controlled the government and making the policy against the farmers. Farmers become united to protect their interests. Middle class and well-educated people stated the progressivism movement in the early 1900s. The unfair election system, exploitation of workers, corruption in the business class and the legal system these are the major cause of this movement. -
Urbanization
Rapid immigration, along with the explosion of Americans moving from farms to the cities, caused an urbanization boom during the Gilded Age. The growth of cities gave rise to powerful political machines, stimulated the economy, and created an American middle class. Urbanization started in the late 1880's/90's. -
Civil Service Reform
Civil Service Reform Act is a United States federal law, enacted in 1883. It established that positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation. It is significant because it enabled positions to be filled by people who actually deserved them. -
Ida B. Wells
On a train ride from Memphis to Nashville, in May 1884, Wells bought a first-class train ticket to Nashville, and was outraged when the train crew ordered her to move to the car for African Americans, and refused. Wells sued the railroad, winning a $500 settlement in a circuit court case but the decision was later overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The injustice led Wells to become a journalist regarding racial issues. -
Haymarket Riot
On May 4, 1886, a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. About eight people died as a result. The riot was due to a mass protest for labor workers such as the eight hour work day. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. The new policy focused specifically on breaking up reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native Americans. Individuals reasoned that if a person adopted white clothing and ways, and was responsible for his own farm, he would gradually drop his Indian-ness and be accepted into the population. -
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American orator and politician from Nebraska, and a member of the Democratic Party. He stood in three times as the Party's nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900, and 1908. He served two terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson. He resigned because of his pacifist position on World War I. -
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896. When news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of would-be prospectors. -
Political Machines
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of supporters and businesses, who receive rewards for their efforts. Theodore Roosevelt, before he became president in 1901, was deeply involved in New York City politics. He compares the political machine to a small army by saying that one boss has several lieutenants that are in charge of lesser bosses. -
Theodore Roosevelt
With the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, age 42, became the 26th and youngest President in the Nation's history when he was elected in September of 1901. He was president until 1909. He believed in an exciting lifestyle and when he was shot in the chest, declared that "no man has had a happier life than I have led". -
Initiative and Referendum
Initiative and referendum are powers to enable the voters, by petition, to propose or repeal legislation or to remove an elected official from office. Proponents of an initiative or referendum effort must apply for an official petition serial number from the Town Clerk. This started around 1904 to empower citizens. -
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair was an American writer of nearly 100 books and writings throughout his career and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1943. Sinclair's most famous muckraking novel, The Jungle (published in 1906), exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that contributed to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. Upton Sinclair is known for writing many exposés resulting in changes in society. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed on the same day as the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. This act mandated examination of livestock before slaughter as well as analysis of carcasses, and required ongoing USDA inspection of slaughterhouses and processing plants. The pure food and drug act prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors. -
Muckraker
The term "muckraker" is given to journalists and writers who exposed corruption in U.S. politics and the business industry in the early 1900's. The term was used by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. A famous "muckraker" was Upton Sinclair, who exposed the meat packing industry with his novel "The Jungle". -
Dollar Diplomacy
Dollar diplomacy is the use of a country's finances to extend international power. From 1909 to 1913, President William Howard Taft and Secretary of State Philander C. Knox followed the foreign policy. This was used to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. -
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Philanthropy". Through Carnegie Corporation of New York, the innovative philanthropic foundation he established in 1911, his fortune has since supported everything from the discovery of insulin and the dismantling of nuclear weapons. His fortune was made in 1901 when he sold his steel company to J.P. Morgan, and he became the richest man in the world. -
16th Amendments
Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913. The 16th Amendment changed a portion of Article I, Section 9. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived. Article I, Section 9 states the “rule of apportionment,” which required Congress to tax states based on population rather than taxing individuals' personal wealth. -
17th Amendments
The 17th amendment states that the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors must have qualifications. In the event of a vacancy, the state with the vacancy can appoint someone. This was ratified April 8th, 1913. -
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, gave the 12 Federal Reserve banks the ability to print money in order to ensure economic stability. The Federal Reserve Act created the dual mandate to maximize employment and keep inflation low. This was mandated on December 23, 1916. -
Eugene V. Debbs
Eugene V. Debbs ran for president a total of five times: in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. In 1920, he is nominated to run for president while he is in prison. he wins nearly a million votes, but is defeated by republican Warren G. Harding. On Christmas Day, 1921 President Harding released Debs from prison, commuting his sentence to time served. -
18th Amendments
The Eighteenth Amendment established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States by declaring the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919, with the amendment taking effect on January 16, 1920. This came about to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. -
19th Amendments
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. The 19th amendment guarantees women the right to vote. This came after much protesting by women until it eventually was passed. -
Suffrage
Suffrage is the right to vote. Woman's suffrage was gained the right to vote on August 18, 1920. This came with the addition of the 19th amendment. -
Tea Pot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States from 1921 to 1922, during the administration of President Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two other locations in California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. Fall was later convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies. -
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer, leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and prominent advocate for Georgist economic reform. He was best known for defending teenage killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert Franks in 1924. He remains notable for his wit, which made him one of the most famous American lawyers and civil libertarians. -
Immigration and the American Dream
Immigrants is associate the American dream with opportunity, a good job and home ownership. U.S.-born citizens usually associate it with wealth, financial security, freedom and family. Immigrants in the U.S., however, are more likely to define the American dream as the pursuit of opportunity and safety from war or persecution. Historian James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America. -
Jane Addams
Jane Addams, after spending some time in Europe, decided to open a large house in Chicago in order to help the lower class. This included educating small children during the day, and adults during "night school". She was a feminist and gave many lectures on peace and opposed wars. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on the same day she suffered a heart attack on December 10, 1931.